Forensic detective and best-selling crime author Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) is cool and professional about his work, passionate and protective about his family. When his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera) turns up missing from her college campus in North Carolina, Cross knows he must apply his formidable investigative skills to search for her.

Arriving in Durham, Cross learns a special Task Force Office is already operating and that Naomi isn't the only victim. Seven other girls are missing and two bodies have been found, with a note left at the second murder scene signed "Casanova." Cross then meets Dr. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd), who escaped from an encounter with the suspect and may be the only person able to identify "Casanova" -- his size, his voice, the way he moves. Cross reluctantly accepts her assistance, realizing it's personal for her as well. Following a trail of clues which leads from the Deep South to the West Coast and back, they race against time to find Cross' niece and the chilling truth behind her disappearance.